Thousands rally for Romney and Ryan in North Canton

NORTH CANTON, Ohio Appealing to the same voters through different strategies, President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney forwarded their arguments across the key swing states Friday as they kept an eye on an approaching storm that threatened their campaign travel.

Romney hit Iowa and Ohio, criticizing new economic reports as evidence of a need for change in the White House and painting a troubling picture of a second Obama term.

“You see, if he’s re-elected you’re going to have the status quo. You’re going to have more of the same for four years,” Romney told thousands gathered at a bitterly cold rally at Hoover High School in North Canton. “He calls it forward, I call it forewarned. You’ve seen what the last four years have brought.”

He singled out college students, who supported Obama in record numbers four years ago.

“I don’t understand how a college kid could vote for Barack Obama, not because he’s a bad guy, but just because he doesn’t understand that as he spends this money and says how much he’s helping you, he’s in fact spending your money and you’re going to have to pay it back with interest,” Romney said.

The rally — 12,000 tickets were given out, although there was no official crowd estimate — was billed as Friday Night Lights, a nod the Northeastern Ohio Friday night football tradition.